What is ball ammo

His bullet was just as effective, but less expensive and easier to produce. It accurately reflected bullet profile when we earned our independence. One camp of opinion claims the term became permanently embedded after the introduction of ball powder during World War II. The propellant, which is safer and faster to produce than extruded powder, only became widely available to civilian reloaders in the s, however.

Each theory has merits, and all likely contributed to ball ammo becoming an accepted firearm term. Regardless of the origin, qualification for membership on the ball ammo roster comes down to bullet construction and performance. Firearms with rifling improved accuracy, period. Historically, lands and grooves had a habit of collecting some of the soft lead from those standard-issue minie balls used during the Civil War. That fouling compromised accuracy and slowed reloads.

Swiss Col. Eduard Rubin solved the problem in He added a thin skin of copper to the surface of a lead bullet—creating the first full metal jacket. We know historically the guns ran cleaner with this new projectile. The higher melting point allowed designers to increase powder charges in their unending search for increased velocity, flatter trajectories and more power. Unlike its entirely lead predecessor, which flattened or lost integrity on impact, FMJs remain largely intact and unaltered after striking soft-tissue targets—at least when delivered at velocities possible from rifles and handguns.

The cleaner running, reliably feeding and more accurate bullet design quickly assumed the new standard military ammo crown. Can they be interchangeable? I think Slick Rick may have muddied the water with his conclusion; they are not interchangeable.

A lead bullet would be a ball, but obviously would not be a FMJ. Just my thoughts. Like I have heard of SS 5. The SS for the 5. And also, ammo labeled ball is usually the typical average load, and not Match, subsonic, lead-free, tracer, or anything else. With respect to usage in conversation. Yes, they can. If in a group of ammo collectors, well, all bets are off. Same-same, with similar nit-picking to ensue. Lots of pistol ball ammunition has mild-steel cores and some rifle ammunition did, such as German S.

In the case of German sintered-iron loads, there is NO core. Nor does it have to be military surplus. Further, there are even ball loads with colored tips - Israel, for one, has used a color tip silver to denote ball 9mm ammunition of pistol velocity, as oppossed to SMG with no color tip, as well as a black tip on commercial ball ammunition intended for the Uzi Carbine.

There is always a problem when you try to apply certain, very restrictive parameters to a common term. Also, I know many will disagree as we all like to use professional, technical language when required, but some credence must be given to common parlance developed over years of conversing about ammunition or any subject or we will all need to carry around glossaries to talk about the cartridge we shot at a target yesterday. To me, ball ammunition simply denotes a common bullet and loading, rather than a special purpose load such as high-pressure proof, tracer, AP, blank, dummy, etc.

It was much more accurate and had longer range. Ball powder is a name trademarked by the Olin Corporation to refer to their ball propellant. This new type of propellant was easier and faster to manufacture. If you really want to get technical the Full Metal Jacket bullet is a subset of ball ammo. FMJ ammo has a lead core that is coated with a harder metal, usually copper.

The base of the bullet is not usually coated. So if you pulled a FMJ bullet out of the brass cartridge you would see exposed lead at the base. This type would be completely coated including the base. These are used in environments where lead dust in the air would be a problem. The short answer is no. While this may sound like a good thing, it really is not when talking about self defense situations.

If you are forced to defend yourself with a gun it will likely be in your home or another area where other people are present. Ball ammo can penetrate walls, glass, car doors, etc. This means that innocent people behind your attacker could be injured or killed.

When carrying a weapon for self defense we also have to be prepared for the backlash caused by our actions. Of course our main concern is to protect ourselves and family, but in many cases there are lawsuits after the fact that will cost time and money. By only using hollow points in our carry gun we are signalling to jurors that we exercised caution.

Hollow point ammo has a hollowed out section on the tip of the bullet. This causes the bullet to expand upon impact. The expansion slows down the bullet and causes more damage to the intended target and less damage to objects behind the target.

Use ball ammo for target practice because it is cheap and accurate. But always load your carry gun with hollow points. The military has to store ammo for long periods in less than ideal conditions. They also have to transport ammo over rough terrain.

We all know that crap happens during shipping, and ball ammo is tougher than hollow points. Military ammo has to reliably feed through belt fed firearms. Hollow points will deform much easier because of the exposed soft lead on top. To illustrate this, just think what would happen to a bullet that was bounced around or dropped off the back of a vehicle going through a desert.

The ball ammo is more likely to continue to feed properly after this kind of treatment. Lower cost is another reason.